Ingot mold car



H. A. DAvls ET `AL INGOT MOLD CAR Filed Sept. 2, 1944 Dec. 23, 1947.

2 Sheets-Sheet l v Dec. 23, 1947. H, A DAvls ET AL 2,433,264

INGOT MOLD CAR Filed sept. 2, 1944 2 sheets-sheet 2 Trug/,14-

fz/ fm /f L W l//v/ HM. Dnvss amd. R. F. KRQEN Patented Dec. 23,i 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT `OFFICE SINGOT MOLD ApplicationvSeptember 2, 1944,1Serial No. `552,510

.4, Claims. 1 `This 'invention relates to railroad ears and particularly to railroad cars of the type commonly :used .in and around steel kplants for the transportation of ingots, ingot moldsf-or AotherA very heavy metallic bodies.

When ingots, in got molds, heavy machines, and the like are to :be transported, the problemof the heavily .concentrated load is ,met -W-ithand .the rolling stock provided for the transportation `ci such objects must be designed with this in mind. Freight cars-of the type customarily used inthe transportation of ingotsfare relatively-short, Afabricated entirely of metal, arid :have flat ,decks Without upwardly extending side Walls. The reunning lgear comprises axles of :heavy type, :large bearings and, generally, heavy helical compression springs. ,It ,is-frequently necessarir `to push or pull laden cars of `this type around curves of short `radius and car designers have heretofore met .with

substantial diiliculty in `designing .cars for the transportation Yof ingots or vthe ,like .which have not only theability to support great concentrated loads, and to stand up under theshocks ofshifting `and .moving .along .trackvvays 4but which `likewise can be moved withiacility aroundsuch Short radius curves.

,One object of the present invention ,is to ,pron vide .a railroad car of the genera-l type .indicated which maybe moved around short radius curves with ease, the car being Vsupported upon .spaced two-Wheeled axles which are individually rotatn able about vertical axes, the conventional -four- Wheeled trucks being dispensed with. Ifhe Well known foureyvheeled truck, while .ofgreatgeneral serviceability and therefore Widely used, embodies axles which remain parallel under allcircumstances being mounted respectively, in bearings 4which are Aheld against relative Ymovement `in a horizontal plane. This lack Vof lflexibility `is `a ydecided disadvantage when the truckis negotiating curves, resulting in some sliding ofthe Wheels fon the tracks in almost everyinstance and Where the curves are sharp, in frequent derailments A truck constructed in accordance with the present invention, and including spaced axles relatively `rotatable `about parallel vertical axes has, on the other hand, the capacity to negotiate sharp curves with negligible Wheel sliding and practically no tendency 'to leave the rails along which it `is moving. The practical utility of such a truck,ancl its value Where many Vcurves are -to Ibe negotiated, as around steel plants, is very great.

A further `object :of Vthe invention `is fto 'provide a :car of :the type :suggested Vvvhich 'includes two holsters Pwhich lhave 4rolling contact with ;.each

other at :approximately the center of the ,caryso that iany shock which' might happen to be .imposed upon one bolster is communicated to the second bolster directly instead of being communicated to such bolster `through the car body. As a result of :this arrangement the king-pins which are customarily employed to connect the'car body .-20 .this arrangement the shocks incident to shifting or sudden starting or stopping of the train, and it will b e understood that cars of the type contemplated are not provided with brakes, may for the most part be transmitted from coupler block to coupler 'block through the bolsters instead of through the car body and king-pins. The arrangement is such, therefore, that the strains imposed upon'the kingepins or any other means connecting the bolster to the car body are minimized and a car of `increased ruggedness is provided.

In the 'accompanying drawings one `forni of railroad (car embodying the invention is illus- 't'rated It vvvill be appreciated by one skilled lin the art that the design and arrangement of the component elements of the invention may be considerably modiiiedin adapting it to cars of various sizes and intended yfor use in the performance of various special `functions. That form of the in- `vent'ion which is illustrated, therefore, is set forth by way of example only.

In the draw-ings Figure 1 is a plan view of a car body embodying `the invention, `portion of the deck of the car being v:broken away, and likewise portion of one .bolsterfin order that portions of the running gear 'may be-morec'learly perceived.

Figure 2 is a `section on line 2--2 of Figure 1, on a `somewhat larger scale;

FigureB is a section on line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure -4 is a section on line 4 4 of Figure 42;

'Figure 5 isa section on line 5-5 of Figure 2; fand Figure 6 isa section online G-f ofFigure 5.

As clearly to be seen 'in Figure 1 the car selected ,65 :iorzillustration by vvay ofexample is rectangular in plan and relatively short. The deck of the car is indicated at I and preferably comprises metallic plates of substantial thickness, well adapted to withstand without buckling the heavy concentrated loads placed upon it and to withstand the heat of any ingots or ingot molds which are to be carried. The car frame upon which the deck I0 is supported may vary widely in its details of construction, the invention being nowise limited in this respect. At the ends of the frame, however, are located the coupler blocks I I and I2, these coupler blocks being preferably welded to the frame members so as to comprise rigid portions of the frame. 2

By means of a coupler or link, not illustrated,`

each coupler block may be connected to the similar coupler block of an adjacent car so that a train of such cars of any desired length may be formed. The frame includes, at each end, a relatively heavy transversely extending block I3, di rectly underlying the deck I0 and the ends of which are received between the upper and lower flanges of the side sill members I4. Projecting downwardly from the undersurface of this block I3 is a short cylindrical extension I3', this portion of the block projecting into a shallow cylindrical recess formed in the upper surface of the underlying bolster I5, the bolster being thus restrained against movement in a horizontal plane relatively to the car frame block I3 directly above it, but being free to rotate horizontally about the vertical axis of the cylindrical extension I 3' of the car frame block. A king-pin of conventional type is indicated at I6, the axis of the king-pin being coincident with the axis of the cylindrical projection I3' of the block I3 and the king-pin passing through and closely tting within a cylindrical aperture formed in the bolster I5.

As viewed from above the bolster I5 is generally rectangular but is cut away at its ends to receive the bearing blocks I'i within which are housed the roller bearings I8 which encircle the ends of the axle I9, and likewise cut away to receive the upper portions of the wheels 20 xed on axle I9. By thus cutting away the bolster, and permitting the upper portions of the several wheels to occupy positions between the planes of the horizontal upper and lower surfaces of the bolster, a, very substantial reduction in the overall height of the car is realized. t is of course desirable to minimize as much as possible the heights of cars of this type, thus keeping their centers of gravity low. The present design, with cut away areas, wells or pockets formed in the bolster ends permits this type of car to be made with center of gravity very low and with the overall height desired without sacrificing strength. Even with wheel pockets of substantial size formed therein each bolster I5 is amply strong and well able to accomplish its intended functions.

It will be observed that horizontal extensions I'I of the bearing block Il constitute abutments for the lower ends of the heavy helical compression springs 2I and that upwardly extending flanges integral with the spring abutment I 'I' comprise lateral guides or confining walls for these springs. Underlying the bearing block I'I and horizontal spring abutment Il' is the lower horizontal midportion of a carrier 24 the vertical end portions 24 of which are provided with spaced ears 242 at their upper ends, each pair of spaced ears 242 being provided with aligned apertures which register with an aperture formed in ear |32 of the bolster, a retaining pin 25 projecting through these registering apertures, as shown clearly in Figure 1. Each member 24 is thus connected at its upper ends to the bolster and constitutes a limiting stop and guide for the bearing block II and the integral spring abutments Il'. The carrier members 24 also serve to positively secure the bearing blocks, springs and axles to the car body, though permitting all necessary flexing of the springs at all times, so that these elements will move with the car when the car is lifted from the track, as by means of crane operated cables or chains attached to the car body. The bearing block is formed with the customary vertical grooves or slots |72 to receive the downwardly projecting guides 26 formed integrally with the bolster, the relative movements of the bolster and axle and block being thus closely restrained so as to be vertical only.

Each bolster I5 has two diametrically opposed outwardly facing cylindrical surfaces, the outer of such surfaces being indicated at S and the inner at S. Both such surfaces are centered on the axis of the king-pin I previously referred to. The surface S is immediately in rear of the surface 53 of the coupler head II, or at least in rear of that portion of the coupler head I I which lies in the plane of the bolster. The inner surface S of the bolster is adapted to have rolling contact with a similar surface of the adjacent bolster, or to be at all times in the immediate proximity of such surface 0f the adjacent bolster, the surfaces S of the two adjacent bolsters comprising the outer surfaces of curved transversely extending plates 28, the upper and lower edges of which are welded to the curved peripheries of the parallel horizontal plates 29 and 30, respectively, these last mentioned plates being welded to the previously described portion of the bolster I5 and in reality forming integral portions thereof.

The arrangement is such that, as the bolsters swing about the vertical axes of the king-pins I6 as the car rounds a curve, the mutually facing surfaces of the curved members 28 of the bolster either roll upon each other or at all times are in very close proximity to each other. It is desirable to limit the possible swinging movement of each bolster about its king-pin and to that end stops are mounted upon the bolster extensions just described, two stops upon each such bolster extension, thesev stops being indicated at 32 in the drawings. They are so positioned with relation to each other, and are so dimensioned, that contact of mutually facing stops will occur when the bolsters of the car have rotated through the maximum angles considered to be desirable. The stops may be, and preferably are, detachably secured in position so that stops of different sizes may be employed to limit the angle of swing of each bolster about its king-pin to that angle through which the bolster must rotate when the car is moving around the curve of smallest radius along the trackway upon which the car moves.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a railroad car of the type described, in combination, a car body, coupler blocks mounted on the ends of the car body, bolsters beneath and supporting the car body, said bolsters being mounted for rotation about parallel axes and each bolster having two surfaces curved about its axis of rotation one such surface being immediately adjacent one of the coupler blocks and the other immediately adjacent the correspondingly curved surface of the second bolster.

2. In a railroad car of the type described, in combination, a car body, coupler blocks mounted on the ends of the car body, two bolsters beneath the car body, each bolster being rotatable about a vertical axis and, in each of its possible angular positions, extending from the immediate proximity of the adjacent coupler block to the immediate proximity of the other bolster.

3. In a railroad car of the type described, a car body, coupler blocks mounted on the ends of the car body, and means independent of the car body for communicating shock imposed upon one coupler block to the other coupler block, said means comprising two bolsters interposed between said blocks and each rotatable about a vertical axis, said holsters together constituting a continuous means, for al1 angular positions of said bolsters( for transmitting forces due to impact upon one coupler block to the other coupler block.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which each bolster is provided with two surfaces curved about its axis of rotation, one such sur- 6 face being always in close proximity to the coupler block and the other curved surface being always in close proximity to the surface of the second bolster.

HARRY A. DAVIS. AUGUST F. KROEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 'Date 243,796 Robinson July 5, 1881 280,386 McLachlan 1 July 3, 1883 484,186 Ellery Oct. 11, 1892 1,682,517 Houston Aug. 28, 1928 2,174,324 Janeway Sept. 26, 1939 287,966 Rust Nov. 6, 1883 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,337 England ---i Dec. 17, 1878 

